


Noise Pollution

by VoidofRoses



Series: The Therapy of one Yakko Warner [3]
Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Anxiety, Gen, Pinky Brain and the Warners are friends and coworkers and Brain is the only one with brain cells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27873282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidofRoses/pseuds/VoidofRoses
Summary: A Warner Brother’s lot tour, a script recital, so much noise. Sometimes it’s too much. But at least Brain is there.
Relationships: Brain & Pinky (Animaniacs), Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner, background Brinky if you squint
Series: The Therapy of one Yakko Warner [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033521
Comments: 10
Kudos: 248





	Noise Pollution

**Author's Note:**

> sort of based on experience but I think a few who have anxiety and adhd like me will agree that noise stimulation is sometimes really hard to take, especially when it’s loud and distracting. I hope this comes across okay! Enjoy!
> 
> come bother me @enbyyakko on tumblr :)

Sometimes Yakko was all about the noise. It came with the territory of being created to be absolutely insane, which often meant that sometimes it included making noise like clamping cymbals together behind someone’s head or playing a trumpet while following a person around the lot. That was, of course, intentional noise on their part. That wasn’t always so bad.

But noises also depend on the source.

He and his siblings had been drawn their age. They’d never had baby stages, never gone through the growing up phase of their life. Dot and Wakko had their moments, sure, when they acted their age and threw tantrums when something particularly didn’t go their way, but Yakko had taught them to hold it in in public, that the directors wanted them to act like adults. Behind closed doors was fine. It didn’t matter when they were in the Tower.

The Warner Brothers movie lot was doing its daily tours of sets, from the latest Justice League film all the way down to the new Animaniacs reboot, where he and his siblings were currently practicing their lines for the next episode. There were a couple of families in the cart bus, maybe. He hadn’t been paying much attention other than saying his lines under his breath.

“And here’s the Warners!” the tour guide announced, Yakko looking briefly up from his script to wave while Wakko, Dot, Pinky and Brain stopped what they were doing to chat with the fans on the tour. A headache had been pinching his temple all morning, and the sudden noise of a baby crying made an ear flick in annoyance.

“Aww don’t cry,” he heard Wakko say, starting to make funny faces before Dot pushed him.

“Step aside and let a lady handle this.”

The baby kept crying, and Yakko’s brow kept twitching.

“Gee, Brain, don’t you have something that can calm her down?”

“I was working on an invention that will cause adults to revert to baby thinking but it’s not intended for the other way around...”

“Will you all please just _SHUT UP_!!” Yakko’s sudden raise in voice startled everyone on set. He was generally considered polite and friendly, especially around kids, but he just couldn’t take it anymore. Wakko and Dot turned away from the tour to give him a look, Brain regaining his composure enough to climb down from Dot’s hand where he stood with Pinky and start to make his way over to the boy. The silence brought Yakko out of his annoyance and he fumbled a little with his script. “I-I’m sorry I...”

The script dropped to the ground as he scampered off, hands clamped over his ears to block out the sound of Wakko, Dot and Pinky shouting his name, pushing his way past producers and side characters to the back door of the studio and exited.

“Keep it together, Yakko,” he muttered, feeling the familiar twinge in his chest start thumping as he made his way back to the tower. “In and out. There’ll be quiet at home. We can chill, listen to some calming music. They’ll understand.” A jump later landed him on the outer ring around the water tower and Yakko slid down the bars, bringing his knees up to his chest as the noises down below began drifting up to him. “In and out.”

He’d been getting better at handling himself lately, thanks to Scratchansniff, but all the chatter while he’d been trying to concentrate with an already pounding headache was obviously too much. Yakko’s heart dropped into his stomach as he realised he’d run off set with the producers and directors around, hand moving to his mouth as he felt like he was going to throw up.

_Don’t forget, you’re easily replaced._

Shit, they were going to be mad at him. Maybe he could convince them to let Wakko and Dot stay - it was, after all, his outburst. They didn’t have anything to do with it and he didn’t want them to end up in Toontown with him when he was inevitably kicked to the curb...

He was starting to spiral.

Yakko buried his head further in between his knees, hands pressed to his ears as he felt himself go into a full blown panic attack. If they didn’t just let him go would he be erased? What happened to toons after they didn’t perform to expectations? The directors back in the 30s had just threatened replacement, they never said how his own world would end, but being thrown in the tower was the best they had to do to get rid of them.

“Yakko?”

“N-no, please, it was my fault, it doesn’t have anything to do with them, I...”

“Yakko, take a deep breath and focus on my voice.”

Blinking back tears, the oldest Warner heaved breaths in and out, his vision slowly refocusing as he inhaled and exhaled, swallowing deeply to stare down at the mouse standing between his feet. “B-Brain?”

“That’s right. In and out, keep going.” Brain patted his pant leg at the cuff encouragingly. “Keep focusing.”

Slowly, surely, Yakko began to calm, his ears drooping as he raised his hands to his eyes to rub at them. There was a bit of a mess on the landing floor between his legs where it seemed he’d thrown up, and he had the decency to blush about it as Brain took the opportunity to climb his pant leg to his knee as he scooted a bit to the right to avoid putting his legs in it, sighing deeply. “Thanks.”

“It’s no problem,” the mouse responded, crossing his arms behind his back as he did his best not to look too upset or angry. “If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you had anxiety?”

Yakko shrugged, draping one arm over his stomach and his other over his free leg as he slouched back, exhausted, against the bars of the tower. “I ‘unno.” He didn’t. He’d said such to Scratchy during their sessions. “I think there was just too much noise going on.”

“You’re usually so composed on set though.” Brain took a seat, tail draping behind him as he patted Yakko’s knee encouragingly. “I can’t say I blame you. It did start getting noisy once the child started crying.”

“That’s just chosen chaos though,” he responded, looking at the mouse with a furrowed brow. “When I make noise myself or Wakko and Dot are doing it with me, I don’t mind it so much. It just...I was trying to concentrate and had this headache...”

“I understand.” Brain’s ears pulled back a little as he glanced to the side. “Sometimes Pinky is a little too much and I need to shut him out, but he...we’re working through it.” Yakko blinked a bit, slightly surprised that the information was being offered forward. Brain was usually closed off or off putting, even out of character off set. The mouse raised his hands, closing his eyes. “Julia convinced me to get therapy after our episode together. She was right, it was a little...intense for a children’s show.”

“But you know most of our viewers are adults now, right?” Yakko asked, genuinely curious. He’d seen it - intense was putting it nicely. “Humans change over the years. They’d understand.”

“But not toons though,” Brain reasoned, looking at Yakko knowingly with a raised brow. “Are you alright now?”

The boy let out a hum and tilted his head, sighing. “Just exhausted right now. I think I need a nap.” He looked at the mess next to him on the landing of the tower. “And clean up.”

“Go and sleep.” Brain waved him off and pulled a phone out from his hammer space, pressing a couple of buttons before the sound of a drone started up. “I’ll clean up here.”

“No, Brain, I...I need to clean up my own messes...”

The mouse waved him off, hopping down from Yakko’s knee as the drone came closer, the eldest Warner being able to see a mop and bucket attached to its sides. “You’re in no condition to, Yakko. Besides, I’m used to cleaning up.” Giving him a wry smile, Yakko made a noise of protest before Brain patted his leg, guiding the drone down.

Maybe he should get some sleep.

Pushing himself to his feet, Yakko opened the heavy door of the water tower, climbing in and hearing the mouse mutter a “sleep well” as he left him to wash his mess off the floor., feeling a little guilty. He’d have to buy Brain a nice block of cheese - Camembert maybe. Closing the door, he managed to make it across the room to the ballpit before he flopped into the balls, sending them scattering everywhere.

He’d have to send apology gifts to the directors and producers too, not to mention find the tour group and apologise....

With that thought, Yakko drifted off to sleep.

* * *

“...still asleep?”

“Yeah. Out like a light.”

Yakko heard voices, eyes bleary and one arm covering his face as he shifted, feeling balls roll around underneath and over him where there was something fleecy - a blanket. He sighed and curled under it, ears poking out of it the only indication that he’d woken slightly, body shivering. He heard shifting beside him and felt Dot place a kiss to his forehead before Wakko brushed his fur with a hand.

“Nighty night, big bro. We’ll be here.”


End file.
